In Montana, many classic memories are made right after someone says, “Hold my beer and watch this.” These bold, assertive moments deserve a bold, assertive beer – Big Sky IPA. A distinct hop presence and malty backbone will leave you refreshed and ready for your moment of glory. Hang on tight and enjoy the ride.

Had a bottle at a backyard gathering, this is the first from Big Sky I've snagged. Always thought it's be Moose Drool, since that one's everywhere. I digress. Really refreshing, lots of juicy hop goodness with a nice malt balance. Some floral and grassiness. (258 characters)

Pours golden clear with thin white head.S- slight hop with fruity wheat.T- good juicy, fruity hop combination. Is that bubblegum at finish? Nice malt.F- great balance for a busy beer.O- I could drink a lot of these. Reminicient of Gumballhead, just not quite as good. (278 characters)

Resiny piney hops dominate the nose with grain aromas in the background.A tea colored pour with a slight haze supports a 3" off white head with a slight yellow tint. The head persists and leaves thick lace.An initial malty palate hints at fruit in the middle and then give way to a pleasant, citrusy, lingering bitterness.Medium body and carbonation. (353 characters)

It has been a while since I did the "mix and match" six pack from a local store, but I thought I would give it a whirl since there were several beers in there I was interested in, this being one of them. Side poured with standard vigor from the bottle into the Sam Adams glass.

Appearance - Pours a standard transparent copper color with a decent one finger head that dissipates relatively slowly. Mostly gone by mid beer. There are small signs of lacing, not many. I like the packaging, I like the concept. Hell I like Montana

Smell - Nice malty backbone coincides with your expected citrus and grapefruit smells from the hops. However, the maltiness and bready aroma pleasantly surprised me, as if in Montana they understand that more is not necessarily better when it comes to hops, even in an IPA.

Taste - Much like the nose, this has a strong malty backbone with enough hops to let you know they are there, but nothing overwhelming. This would probably be called a "pale ale" at some of the more aggressively hopped breweries, although I very much enjoy it. Nice balance between the grapefruit/citrus from the hops and the malts.

Mouthfeel - Finishes clean and just a bit bitter from the hops. Nice snap at the end.

Overall - I was thoroughly impressed by this beer. I had relatively low expectations, but I am surprised and pleased. I would highly recommend this beer to anyone who likes a bit of hops for flavor but doesn't like their taste buds assaulted with them. Excellent beer. Condor recommended and approved. (1,527 characters)

Appearance: Standard copper colored IPA with hints of orange. Thin off-white head that has left some lacing where it has dissipated.

Aroma: Caramel and orange essence. Definitely hinting at being a balanced, if slightly malty IPA. Sort of reminiscent of a barleywine but with much less body.

Taste: The hops really surprised me here, as they dominate the flavor. The only time the crystal malt flavor comes through is for a brief moment right when it first hits the palate. Slightly dry/peppery hop bitterness quickly takes over and builds in intensity. The finish is interesting, while there is a good amount of bitterness there is also a creamy flavor from the malt that appears for a moment. The aftertaste releases some orangey hop flavor along with a lot of bitterness that slowly fades away. Even though I can't find any big flaws in the flavor, due to the one-dimensional bitterness and lack of depth it's hard to praise this one

Mouthfeel: Just below medium in body with somewhat aggressive carbonation, nothing a good swirl can't fix. Pretty easy drinking but nothing to get too excited about.

Final Thoughts: It's rare that a beer I review gets the exact same score in every category. Big Sky IPA is simply an okay beer. It's flavor fits right in with the style guidelines and it doesn't try to get any fancier than that. So while it doesn't impress me, it has my respect in a way. Would I drink it again? If I'm ever in Montana I wouldn't turn it down. (1,536 characters)

Poured into a pint glass, this one appeared to have a bronze color with a slight transparency about it allowing some light carbonation to be seen rising. There was a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute. The lacing was somewhat clingy and eventually spider webs a bit. The smell had a decent earthy crisp caramel maltiness with a light kick of citrus bitterness. The taste was basically the same as the smell. The mouthfeel was slightly harsh and bitter with a dry effect running over my tongue. Probably about a medium on the body.Overall, decent AIPA that I could have again. (613 characters)

Appearance – The beer pours a golden amber color a two finger of white colored foam. The head has a good level of retention, slowly fading to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer has a big smell of a bready and citrus nature with the citrus being mainly of a grapefruit hop smell, but containing some aromas a sweet orange. Along with the grapefruit hop comes aromas of pine and a bit of an earthy smell as well.

Taste – The taste begins with a bready and very citrusy flavor with the presence of a bit of orange sweetness mixed with a grapefruit hop. Other fruity flavors of a tropical fruit nature (tangerine, mango, pineapple) are present from the start as well with these fading as the flavor advances on more toward the end of the taste. The bready flavors take on some more biscuit like notes as the taste advances with the hop really ramping it up toward the middle to the end. While initially only a grapefruit hop being present, hop flavors of pine and a floral nature, as well as an increase in the grapefruit come to fruition more at the end of the taste. With all these changes and a bit of the tropical flavors really coming back strong at the end, one is left with a decently hopped and smooth flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the medium side in terms of thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the rather high side. Both actually fit the beers flavor profile quite well with the higher carbonation really enhancing the crispness of the brew all while the medium body did the same, but upheld the nice blend of hop flavors.

Overall – This was a rather easy drinking and quite enjoyable IPA overall. Rather tasty. (1,793 characters)

Appearance: pours a healthy 3" cream colored head that fades slowly with significant lacing. Color is a clear rich copper with no visible carbonation streaming. Aroma: pleasant aroma of citrus hops (tangerine and grapefruit) with some malty sweetness lurking in the background. Mouthfeel: light to medium bodied with a somewhat sticky mouthfeel. Finish is somewhat dry. Flavor: the grapefruit hops dominate the taste, but the sweeter tangerine flavor is also present. For balance there is whole wheat bread malt flavor and some caramel sweetness. (548 characters)

Big Sky ours a darker copper color, with a nice large lacing white head. There is a nice hoppy and floral aroma. The taste has a noticeable but subtle malty backbone with some nice floral notes. Not overpowering, good hop bite, nice blend with the sweet malty backbone. Overall its a well balanced, and very enjoyable IPA. Very nice. (333 characters)

Pours a nice copper with a bit of haze. Foamy head that reduces fairly fast. Some pine, malt and floral notes on the nose. Lemon, oranges, pine with a bit of bread. Decent bitterness. Medium mouth, but oily enough that it leaves a lingering aftertaste. Nice complexity without trying too hard. Not the best IPA out there, but if wouldn't mind having one now and again. (368 characters)

Slightly cloudy copper pour with a minimal head. Flowery aroma with a little bit of malt. Taste very much follows the nose with a floral hop flavor upfront backed by a strong malt presence. Has tastes of straw, pine, bread and caramel. Finishes dry with a mild bitterness. (272 characters)

A - Swampy golden orange with a hint of earthy brown, one finger tan head and very sticky lacing

S - super rad hop funk right off the nose, bright over ripened pineapple, tons of sugar, fresh malts, grainy, very dense loaf of bread, common flowers, very yeasty and a nice pine sap like note

T - Huge sweet malt with a crazy citrus/pine/pineapple/floral hop. Kind of punches you in the face with all of that at once. nice booze note, dense, a slight mary jane, biscuity and very frsh tasting

M - Full bodied, well balanced, not much complexity but just the right amount, medium plus acidity (but very refreshing) and a very nice long sweet, to hop to sweet malt finish.

D/O - This is a beast of a malt backbone IPA. All the hops and malts you want. Drinks like a snack. Haha. Not quite a meal, but a snack for sure. Very refreshing, great taste and easy to drink. This should suit any ale lovers guidelines of taste

Final thoughts - Very reasonable $8 sixer and a nice 6.2% abv, I could drink this all day! (1,045 characters)

This ale pours a very nice hazy deep amber color with a slight white head. The aroma is malty and sweet with some hop notes but nothing remarkable. The flavor follows suit. Mostly malt with a bit of a pine hop bite. This is a good beer but nothing worth seeking out. (266 characters)

A-light amber color with a nice head that leaves a laceS-I smell hops, but you get a malty aroma also. There is a nobel hops like aroma in it alsoT-malt is balanced with a hop kick in the aftertaste that last until the finishM- medium body and medium carbonationO- this beer has a bold taste that is differant from other american IPA's (339 characters)